Lock for a sliding glass door

ABSTRACT

A lock for preventing relative motion between a sliding glass door and the frame receiving the door. A projection fixedly mounted to the door is slidably and lockingly received by a keeper. The keeper main body has a slot through which the projection is movable. A wall is movably mounted within the main body and is urged by a spring to a first position closing the slot and preventing the projection from passing from the main body through the slot. A release cap is slidably mounted to the main body and is fixedly connected to the movably mounted wall. By forcing the cap toward the main body, the movably mounted wall is forced away from the slot thereby allowing the projection to pass from the main body through the slot.

United States atent 1 Pettrie et a1.

[ LOCK FOR A SLIDING GLASS DOOR [76] Inventors: Harry L. Pettrie, 3911 Byram,

Indianapolis, Ind. 46208; Ralph W. Jackson, 4408 Brookline, Apt. C, Indianapolis, Ind. 46220 [22] Filed: Mar. 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.2 338,713

1,397,934 11/1921 Posson 292/175 1,607,316 ll/l926 Smith 292/173 1,823,104 9/1931 Johnson 1 292/87 2,758,864 8/1956 Dixon 292/302 1 Aug. 20, 1974 Frey et al 292/189 Ammon et a1 1 292/162 [57] ABSTRACT A lock for preventing relative motion between a sliding glass door and the frame receiving the door. A projection fixedly mounted to the door is slidably and lockingly received by a keeper. The keeper main body has a slot through which the projection is movable. A wall is movably mounted within the main body and is urged by a spring to a first position closing the slot and preventing the projection from passing from the main body through the slot. A release cap is slidably mounted to the main body and is fixedly connected to the movably mounted wall. By forcing the cap toward the main body, the movably mounted wall is forced away from the slot thereby allowing the projection to pass from the main body through the slot.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEumszmm I 3,830,1

sum 20? z Fig.4

LocK FOR A SLIDING GLASS DOOR BACKGROUND 'OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field of locks and, more particularly, relates to those locks which are used in combination with sliding glass doors.

2. Description of the Prior Art Residential break-ins have increased considerably in recent years with the illegal entry being accomplished in many cases via the slidable glass doors typically utilized for access to a patio. As a result, various types of locks have been devised to prevent illegal opening of the sliding glass door. Typically, the prior art locks are of the conventional type and are built into the door frame. The prior art locks in many cases are easily broken or picked by a burglar. Other devices such as boards and broomsticks have been placed by the owner into the door track. Of course, these devices are not only unsightly, but are. easily removable by jiggling the door. Other types of devices are installed in the door frame and are fairly complicated. Many of the prior art devices restrict unnecessarily the total amount of movement of the door from the closed position to the open position.

Disclosed herein is a new and improved lock which is easy to install and without requiring modification of existing slidable glass doors. The lock is installed in such a position so as to not be visible from the outside of the building. In addition, the lock disclosed herein prevents not only horizontal movement of the door but also vertical movement of the door thereby preventing the burglar from lifting the door upwardly to disengage either the door track or the door lock.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is a lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising a projection mountable on the first frame, and a keeper mountable on the second frame and removably receiving the projection, the keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which the projection is movable into the main body, the main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging the wall to a first position closing the slot but yieldable for the wall to move to a second position opening the slot, the wall having an interior stop surface preventing passage of the projection from within the main body out through the slot and having an exterior tapered surface contractable by the projection to urge the wall to the second position as the wall passes through the slot into the main body, the main body having an external device slidably mounted thereon and connected to the wall when moved to position the wall in the second position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved lock for a sliding glass door.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for limiting vertical and horizontal movement of a sliding glass door.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a sliding glass door which may be locked in the closed position by a lock incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of projection 17 shown in FIG. 1 which is a part of the lock incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of lock 16 as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 and viewed in thedirection of the arrow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a sliding glass door frame which receives a pair of doors 11 and 12. In many sliding door arrangements, door 11 and door 12 are slidably mounted to frame 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, door 12 is fixedly mounted to frame 10 and may not be moved whereas door 11 is slidably mounted to the frame. A conventional handle 13 is mounted to door 11 which also includes a conventional latch 14 which is engageable with a vertical portion 15 of frame 10. Lock 16 is shown mounted to the upper left hand portion of the door and includes a projection 17 fixedly mounted on door 11 and a keeper 18 which is fixedly mounted to frame 10.

Projection 17 (FIG. 2) includes a first wall 19 and a second wall 20 integrally joined together with wall 20 extending perpendicularly from wall 19. The back surface of wall 19 is provided with adhesive for securing bracket 17 to a surface such as a door thereby alleviating the necessity for drilling holes into the door which would normally receive fasteners extending through holes 21 of the bracket. The opposite longitudinally extending edges 22 and 23 are beveled to facilitate movement of wall 20 into keeper 18.

Keeper 18 has a main body 24 which includes a top wall 25 connected to a back wall 26, a front wall 27 and a bottom wall 28. A pair of side walls 29 and are mounted to top wall 25 by conventional fastening means such as rivets 31. Bottom wall 28 is spaced from the bottom edges of side walls 29 and 30 and back wall 26 forming a slot 32 which removably receives wall 20 of bracket 17.

An inverted U-shaped wall 33 is mounted by fastener 34 to a rod 35 extending through and slidably mounted to wall 28. The bottom end of rod 35 is received in and attached to cap 36 by fastener 37. A helically wound spring 38 has a top end seated between walls 29 and 30 and against wall 25. The head of fastener 34 extends into the bottom end of spring 38 which seats atop wall 33. A pair of spaced apart cars 40 and 41 are integrally joined together and are positioned adjacent respectively walls 29 and 30. Spring 30 normally urges ears 40 and 41 toward wall 28 so as to close slot 32. The spring is yieldable to allow ears 40 and 41 to move toward wall 25 thereby opening the slot and allowing passage of wall 20 through the slot and into or out of the main body 24.

Surfaces 42 and 43 of ears 40 and 41 are spaced sufficiently apart to receive wall 20 therebetween. Likewise, rod 35 is positioned adjacent wall 27 thereby allowing wall 20 to extend into the main body between ears 40 and 41. Surfaces 42 and 43 form stop surfaces preventing wall 20 from moving through the slot and out of the main body in the direction of arrows 44 and 45. The outwardly facing surfaces of ears 40 and 41 are provided respectively with a bevel surface 46 and 47 which when contacted by the beveled edges 22 or 23 of wall 20 will cause the ears to move upwardly thereby compressing the spring and allowing wall 20 to move into the main body. In order to disengage the keeper from wall 20 after the wall is positioned within main body 24, cap 36 is depressed thereby moving the ears away from wall 28 and allowing wall 20 to move out of slot 32 in the direction of arrow 44 or 45. By allowing wall 20 to move in the direction of arrow 44 or 45, the keeper may be mounted to the upper left hand portion of a door frame or to the upper right hand corner of a door frame depending upon which direction the door slides to the open position with respect to the frame.

A mounting bracket 47 is fixedly mounted to main body 24 to facilitate the mounting of keeper 18 to frame 10. The keeper is mounted on frame in a position to receive wall when the door is closed. Slot 32 extends horizontally and is sized to prevent relative vertical motion between wall 20 and the main body of the keeper thereby preventing vertical movement of the door. Bracket 17 is mounted to the upper edge portion of the glass door with wall 20 being aligned with slot 32.

It will be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides a new and improved lock for a sliding glass door which will prevent the door from being lifted or tipped from the door track. It will be further obvious from the above description that the present invention provides a sliding glass door lock which may be easily installed without requiring modification of the door. Likewise, it will be obvious from the above description that the present invention provides a sliding glass door lock which is not visible fromthe outside of the building and which is hidden from view by the window drapes on the interior of the building.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

l. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising:

a projection mountable on said first frame;

a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body, said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldable for said wall to move to a second position opening said slot, said wall having an interior stop surface preventing passage of said projection from within said main body out through said slot and having an exterior tapered surface contactable by said projection to urge said wall to said second position as said projection passes through said slot into said main body, said main body having an external device slidably mounted thereon and connected to said wall when moved to position said wall in said second position;

said main body is mountable in front of said first frame and has a back wall facing said first frame, a pair of spaced apart side walls and a front wall facing away from said first frame, said slot extends through said side walls and said back wall with said projection moving through at least one of said side walls as said projection moves into and out of said main body, said projection extends through said back wall when positioned in said main body; and,

said movably mounted wall has a pair of ears each positioned adjacent one of said side walls being urged by said spring to close said slot extending through said side walls, said ears have mutually facing stop surfaces preventing passage of said projection from within said main body through said slot in said side walls, said ears further have outwardly facing tapered surfaces.

2. The lock of claim 1 wherein:

said main body has a bottom wall integrally connected to said front wall and spaced apart from said side walls and said back wall forming said slot, said ears are urged toward said bottom wall by said spring.

3. The lock of claim 2 wherein:

said device includes a rod slidably extending through said bottom wall mounted to said movably mounted wall and having an outer end positioned externally of said bottom wall.

4. The lock of claim 3 wherein:

said main body has a mounting bracket secured thereto.

5. The lock of claim 4 wherein:

said device has a fastener securing said rod to said movably mounted wall with said fastener having an enlarged head seated within one end of said spring which is a helically wound spring.

6. The lock of claim 5 wherein:

said projection has a first wall and a second wall integrally joined perpendicularly together, said first wall has adhesive means thereon and holes therethrough for the mounting of said first wall to said first frame, said second wall has opposite longitudinally extending beveled portions.

7. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising:

a projection mountable on said first frame;

a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body, said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldably for said wall to move to a second position opening said slot,

between said projection and said keeper preventing vertical movement of said door.

said slot, said wall having an interior surface preventing passage of said projection from within said main body out through said slot and having an exterior surface contactable by said projection to urge said wall having an interior stop surface preventing 5 said wall to said second position as said projection passage of said projection from within said main passes through said slot into said main body, said body out through said slot and having an exterior main body having an external device slidably tapered surface contactable by said projection to mounted thereon and connected to said wall when urge said wall to said second position as said promoved to position said wall in said second position; jection passes through said slot into said main 10 and, body, said main body having an external device said main body has a back wall and a side wall, said slidably mounted thereon and connected to said slot extends through said side wall and said back wall when moved to position said wall in said secwall with said projection moving through said side ond position; wall as said projection moves into and out of said said first frame is a glass door having an upper edge main body, said projection extends through said portion with said projection mounted to said upper back wall when positioned in said main body, said edge portion and said keeper mounted on said secmovably mounted wall has a pair of ears with one ond frame in a position to receive said projection of said ears positioned adjacent said side wall, said when said door is closed, said slot extends horizonears being urged by said spring to close said slot extally and is sized to prevent relative vertical motion tending through said side wall, said ears have mutually facing stop surfaces preventing passage of said projection from within said main body through said slot in said side wall.

8. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising:

a projection mountable on said first frame;

a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body; said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldable 9. The lock of claim 8 wherein:

said first frame is a glass door having an upper edge portion with said projection mounted to said upper edge portion and said keeper mounted on said sec ond frame in a position to receive said projection when said door is closed.

10. The lock of claim 8 wherein said slot extends horizontally and is sized to prevent relative vertical motion between said projection and said keeper preventing vertical movement of said door.

for said wall to move to a second position opening 

1. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising: a projection mountable on said first frame; a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body, said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldable for said wall to move to a second position opening said slot, said wall having an interior stop surface preventing passage of said projection from within said main body out through said slot and having an exterior tapered surface contactable by said projection to urge said wall to said second position as said projection passes through said slot into said main body, said main body having an external device slidably mounted thereon and connected to said wall when mOved to position said wall in said second position; said main body is mountable in front of said first frame and has a back wall facing said first frame, a pair of spaced apart side walls and a front wall facing away from said first frame, said slot extends through said side walls and said back wall with said projection moving through at least one of said side walls as said projection moves into and out of said main body, said projection extends through said back wall when positioned in said main body; and, said movably mounted wall has a pair of ears each positioned adjacent one of said side walls being urged by said spring to close said slot extending through said side walls, said ears have mutually facing stop surfaces preventing passage of said projection from within said main body through said slot in said side walls, said ears further have outwardly facing tapered surfaces.
 2. The lock of claim 1 wherein: said main body has a bottom wall integrally connected to said front wall and spaced apart from said side walls and said back wall forming said slot, said ears are urged toward said bottom wall by said spring.
 3. The lock of claim 2 wherein: said device includes a rod slidably extending through said bottom wall mounted to said movably mounted wall and having an outer end positioned externally of said bottom wall.
 4. The lock of claim 3 wherein: said main body has a mounting bracket secured thereto.
 5. The lock of claim 4 wherein: said device has a fastener securing said rod to said movably mounted wall with said fastener having an enlarged head seated within one end of said spring which is a helically wound spring.
 6. The lock of claim 5 wherein: said projection has a first wall and a second wall integrally joined perpendicularly together, said first wall has adhesive means thereon and holes therethrough for the mounting of said first wall to said first frame, said second wall has opposite longitudinally extending beveled portions.
 7. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising: a projection mountable on said first frame; a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body, said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldably for said wall to move to a second position opening said slot, said wall having an interior stop surface preventing passage of said projection from within said main body out through said slot and having an exterior tapered surface contactable by said projection to urge said wall to said second position as said projection passes through said slot into said main body, said main body having an external device slidably mounted thereon and connected to said wall when moved to position said wall in said second position; said first frame is a glass door having an upper edge portion with said projection mounted to said upper edge portion and said keeper mounted on said second frame in a position to receive said projection when said door is closed, said slot extends horizontally and is sized to prevent relative vertical motion between said projection and said keeper preventing vertical movement of said door.
 8. A lock for preventing relative motion between a first frame and a second frame which are slidably mounted together comprising: a projection mountable on said first frame; a keeper mountable on said second frame and removably receiving said projection, said keeper having a main body with a slot thereon through which said projection is movable into said main body; said main body having a movably mounted wall therein and a spring mounted therein urging said wall to a first position closing said slot but yieldable for said wall to move to a second positioN opening said slot, said wall having an interior surface preventing passage of said projection from within said main body out through said slot and having an exterior surface contactable by said projection to urge said wall to said second position as said projection passes through said slot into said main body, said main body having an external device slidably mounted thereon and connected to said wall when moved to position said wall in said second position; and, said main body has a back wall and a side wall, said slot extends through said side wall and said back wall with said projection moving through said side wall as said projection moves into and out of said main body, said projection extends through said back wall when positioned in said main body, said movably mounted wall has a pair of ears with one of said ears positioned adjacent said side wall, said ears being urged by said spring to close said slot extending through said side wall, said ears have mutually facing stop surfaces preventing passage of said projection from within said main body through said slot in said side wall.
 9. The lock of claim 8 wherein: said first frame is a glass door having an upper edge portion with said projection mounted to said upper edge portion and said keeper mounted on said second frame in a position to receive said projection when said door is closed.
 10. The lock of claim 8 wherein said slot extends horizontally and is sized to prevent relative vertical motion between said projection and said keeper preventing vertical movement of said door. 